“It’s a very diverse team,” Tory said in an interview on Friday, “and we have tremendous depth—that’s our strength.”

That depth is vital to maintain a strong program when over 20 athletes leave the team each year. This past May, the Engineers lost All-Americans Josh Black and Bill Monette to graduation.

However, the vast majority of RPI’s top athletes are back for another year. Dwayne Alleyne, who as a freshman last year was named the state and regional male athlete of the year for indoor track, has picked up where he left off, winning two events in RPI’s victory over Union on Sunday. Not to be outdone, Derek McGough also won two events on Sunday; he was last year’s UCAA Male Rookie of the Year. Sprinter Tim Kachur returns as a co-captain, as well as Paul Salasznyk, a versatile athlete who Tory says will compete in several different events.

The women’s side, if anything, appears to be in even better shape than the men’s team. Kate Adams, Jo Alexander, Allison Benson, Laura Rogers, and Melissa VanAlstine—all of whom hold school records in various events—return to spearhead the women’s squad. Benson in particular had a spectacular 2001 season, going to both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships for Division III, along with Alleyne.

Tory’s goal for both squads is to win the UCAA and New York State meets for both indoor and outdoor track and field. The biggest obstacle to that goal is St. Lawrence, who beat out the RPI men’s team in both the indoor and the outdoor state competitions in 2001. The Engineers performed especially well out of doors, with the men winning last year’s UCAA meet and placing second in the states; the women finished second at the conference championships and third at the state level.

Tory, last year’s UCAA Men’s Track Coach of the Year, is confident that his teams will improve on last season’s performance.